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Live Review: The Front Bottoms

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‘The categoric rise of The Front Bottoms after signing to Fueled By Ramen in 2015 was made evident when their Garage show sold out well in advance. Once the crowd of coveted ticket-holders assembled, anticipation hung thick in the air – with electricity moving through the crowd even before support Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band takes the stage.’

Kevin, a musical veteran when considered alongside the headliners, brought his own brand of introspective folk rock to bassier levels in his full-band getup. A far cry from his regular solo performances, he bounced across the stage at any given chance throughout a set which was met with a more enthusiastic reception than one would expect from a crowd largely unfamiliar with his material.

‘As Glasgow welcomed The Front Bottoms to the stage like heroes, an inflatable ‘TFB’ was haphazardly pushed up in a manner fittingly unpretentious for a band whose charm lies in songs which sound deliberately thrown-together.’ The band paused in place before beginning their set in a way that suggested they knew what they were about to unleash – one opening note of older track ‘Flashlight’ was enough to ignite something in the venue. What followed was nearly an hour and a half of pure delight, stream-of-consciousness indie rock at a pace that barely gave the crowd time to catch a breath.

As performers TFB are tight, delivering a sound with more body and punch than their recorded efforts. It’s a rare feeling at a show, and something that is the mark of a special one, when there’s an overwhelming sense that the band is the favourite of every single person in attendance – and as the audience’s volume overpowered frontman Brian Sella on almost every word, that certainly seemed the case that night.[Hannah Westwater – @hannahpavlove]